


Gangs United

by spyriteVestar



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alchemist Evie (Disney), BAMF Carlos, BAMF Evie, BAMF Jay, BAMF Mal, BAMF Uma, Drabble Collection, Everyone's Best Friend Jay, F/F, F/M, Fae Mal (Disney), Gen, Genius Carlos, Isle Gangs (Freeform), Isle of the Lost (Disney), M/M, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not In Chronological Order, United States of Auradon (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, but not enough that you need to have read it, most of the pairings won't show up for a while, takes a bit from the book, then again when isn't Uma BAMF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2018-12-08 23:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11657265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spyriteVestar/pseuds/spyriteVestar
Summary: Ben never gets around to creating his decree, but that's okay. Because the Isle Gangs have figured out how to escape the barrier, and they're leaving. For good. Told in a series of non-chronological drabbles.Or: In which Mal is the unwilling leader who's really good at her job, Evie and Carlos actually use their genius brains, Jay has a lot of friends, and the other kids on the Isle actually get OFF the Isle. Featuring pirate shenanigans, a village of kids with no adult supervision, and an actual explanation for all of the Isle kids who only have a single parent.





	1. After Escape 25

_Alchemist_ :

“Do you ever wonder about what life would be like, if we had, you know… stayed on the Isle?”

Evie glanced over at her friend, and then took a moment to take in Carlos’ question. Considered it from all angles, for she understood that this was no flighty question that had just popped into his head, but rather a troubled thought that had grown from some source of doubt in her friend’s heart. What would life be like-what would they be like-if they had never left their parents behind, and come to Auradon?

“I think… that you wouldn’t be happy. After all, staying on the Isle means staying with Cruella, and being her scapegoat. You wouldn’t be free to design, and think, and invent new things. Jay would still be stealing for his dad; Mal would be trying to get her mom to look at her. I’d still be Mother’s perfect little doll…. And none of us would be sad, but we wouldn’t have been content either. I’m sure that we’d still be friends-you and me and Mal and Jay- but we wouldn’t be family. Not like we are here.”

Carlos is quiet. Evie turns to look at him, and is surprised to find him smiling. He tilts his head back to look up at something in the sky, and she follows his view-oh. Looks as though Mal is back from scouting.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought too.”

Evie smiles herself, and then ruffles Carlos’ hair.

“Wha-Hey!” He ducks to get away, but he’s laughing a little bit, and Evie feels happy; happy in the way she’s only been able to feel recently. It’s only been a few months since the gangs of the Isle had united, and escaped from the barrier. They had sailed up north, on ships that hadn’t sailed in over sixteen years, and crossed through the Schwarzwald- _Black Forest_ -and into their current home. The Forbidden Forest is untamed, and full of wild and dangerous creatures; but then so were they. Using magic and technology, and lots of time and effort, they had built this new village; this home for misfits and outcasts and abused, and they were happy here. Sure, they had left their parents behind, but they hadn’t left their families. The Isle gangs were the people they had chosen to love, even if love was something most of them had never felt.

And Evie knew, deep in her heart, that if she had stayed, then she would never have been truly happy. Not when she was stuck in an empty castle with Mother, constantly being watched and ‘ _better posture Evie,_ **_princesses_ ** _never slouch_ ’ and ‘ _cross your ankles Evie, or you’ll never attract a prince_ ’ and always, _always_ needing to be better. But here, in this place, Evie could relax, and be more than her mother’s puppet. She was one of Mal’s inner circle, the Alchemist; the genius who had combined potions and magic and chemistry to **create**. She was respected here, more than ever before, and she was happy. She knew the others were happy too. They all seemed so much more alive here. And that was enough for her to leave behind any regrets she might have.

Because this was better than she had ever been before.


	2. After Escape 26

_ Alchemist _ :

“Hey Wonder Twins, you two done fooling around? It’s time for dinner.” Mal lands behind them with a gust of air, her wings folding so they don’t drag on the ground.

“Right behind you, oh fearless leader,” Carlos jokingly bows to her, only to stumble as she cuffs his bowed head.

“Zip it, Genius, I get enough of that from Freddie.” Her scowl is good natured though, and her eyes sparkle with something more than light as she holds her hands out to two of her closest friends. Evie grasps her hand tightly, Carlos mirroring on her other side.

_ Weather, feather, let us fly _

_ Lift us up into the sky _

Evie feels the magic granting Mal’s request more than the air ruffling her hair, as the trio floats up. As they pass the leafy barrier that marks the start of the canopy, they slow, and Mal flaps her wings twice. Moving forward, they land on a platform of woven branches, where a familiar figure waits.

“Hey Jay, east is clear,” Mal greets her oldest friend, who nods at the report.

“South patrol and north patrol are both clear, and west hasn’t come in yet.”

“I swear, if they’re back late because Claudine and Clary decided to make out again, I’m not putting them on the same patrol for a month… Oh whatever. They’ll find us if they really need to.”

Mal walked off the platform, stepping onto a large branch that served as a walkway. They followed her as she headed towards the large roofed platform that had been serving as a mess hall for the several months they’d been here. Evie could smell something spicy on the air, and the warm sizzling smell that meant they were cooking meat.

“Smells like the hunters were successful today,” Mal observed, switching from one branch to another with the ease of one who was born to live in trees. Which, Evie supposed, was accurate, considering that her winged friend was a fae. No matter how many years her nature had been suppressed on the Isle, Mal’s ancestors were the original rulers of the forests, and it showed. Evie on the other hand, was only human; but like any Isle-born child, she was incredibly good at keeping her balance. More so perhaps than others, considering the years of ‘princess lessons’ her Mother had put her through.

“Yeah. Yuan and the others stumbled across a deer in the woods today. Non-magical, of course. So they brought that back along with the usual rabbits. Helia’s cooking it now, but Yuan definitely scored some major points for going directly to her with it.”

“Oh, that’s so great! Hopefully those two will quit circling each other and start dating,” Evie interjected, causing Carlos to nod in agreement.

“Yeah, those two have been driving the rest of us crazy with their obliviousness. I mean, how hard is it to notice that they’re both making moon eyes at each other, when they do it at the  _ same time _ .”

Evie thought that was a bit hypocritical coming from Carlos, considering him and Jay had been doing the same thing for a few months now. She wasn’t going to point it out though, that was a conversation for a later date.

“Hey Jay!”

Jay turned to his right as CJ swung into view. The daughter of Hook had used ropes she had tied herself, until they had almost gotten them caught by some Auradon hunters who had stumbled their way around the border of their village. After that, Evie had created a new type of vine to act as a rope substitute, and CJ had taken to swinging from place to place on them with unparalleled enthusiasm.

“Hey, CJ, what’s up?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just here to let you know the west patrol reported all clear-” A truly wicked grin splits across the girl’s face. “-and Clary and Claudine are currently making out underneath the river willows.”

Jay’s nose scrunches up, even as he bats at CJ, who leaps back with a carefree laugh. Latching onto another vine, she lets gravity give her momentum, and then is off through the trees. Evie watches her go with no small amount of amusement. CJ may be slightly crazy, but she’s also an incredibly good messenger. She had friends in all the gangs, and was one of the first people to get new gossip. Combining that with Jay’s ability to strategize and manipulate things in the background, the duo were what kept the village running smoothly on a day to day basis.

Stepping onto the dining platform, the group makes a beeline for the cluster of benches at the center of the room which had become theirs. Most of the others are already there; Jocelyn Ratcliffe is perched delicately on the edge of a bench, leaning slightly to the side to avoid the flailing gestures of a chattering Maddy; Uma and Harriet are having yet another one of their  _ my crew is better _ arguments; Sammy shadowing his captain, but Harry noticeably absent.

Mal sits in the center of the only empty bench, Evie immediately flanking her on her left. Leaning over, she neatly goes to snag Jocelyn and Maddy’s attention.

“Ladies.”

“He-”

“Well if it ain’t the Alchemist Princess herself!” Maddy crows, mowing over whatever Jocelyn was going to say. The only sign of the Ratcliffe’s annoyance being a barely noticeable twitch in her eyebrow. “Figured out how ta turn gems inta Stones yet?”

Evie rolls her eyes at the familiar question. Every evening Maddy would ask the same question, and every evening Evie would answer the same thing.

“You know that if I had figured it out, I would hardly be sitting here so nonchalantly.” Alchemy was hardly a new art, but it was one which didn’t have many practitioners. What Evie did know-from an entry found in Mother’s potion book-was that an Alchemist became a master when they could turn lead into gold. Evie had passed that stage almost immediately, her understanding of the art coming to her almost as naturally as aesthetics. Now she aimed where only one Alchemist had succeeded before: turning gems into Stones.

Stones were technically gems, but they were also so much more than just crystalline structures. Stones were magic keystones; each holding the secret to a branch of magic. The only other Alchemist who had managed to create one was one whose name was lost. His creation on the other hand, had a name which echoed through history. The Stone of the Philosopher-Philosopher’s Stone for short-held the secrets to the magic of alchemy. It was said to be created to ensure that the alchemic art never died, and allegedly held the secrets to the three greatest alchemic formulas. Panacea, the all healing medicine which could cure any ailment-even death. Alkahest, the solvent which could dissolve any substance. And Nectar, the elixir that could make a person live forever. The stone’s current location was unknown, but that was fine. Because Evie was going to create her own Stone, and take her place among the great Alchemists of history.

“I certainly can’t wait ta see it when you figure it out.” Maddy’s grins stretchs across her face, before a delicate hand smacks into the middle of it and pushes her away.

“Who cares about whether or not she’s made a magic rock?” Jocelyn’s eyes are bright as she leans in. “ _ I _ solved your problem, Evie, and in a way that’ll triple our income! We’ll need to get Mal’s approval, but if she gives the go ahead, I’ve got the finances worked out to give us the maximum net profit.”

Considering that Evie can literally turn lead into gold, money isn’t exactly something they’re in short supply of. Still, Jocelyn was the head of the shopkeepers’ gang for a reason. Her talent with money managing was second to none, and she could bargain down to fractions of the original price. And if all that came along with a solution to Evie’s problem, then that was just mutually beneficial for the both of them.

“That’s wonderful! I’ll have Jay call a heads’ meeting, and we can approach Mal with it then.”

“Hmm? Did you call me, Evie?” Mal turned away from her conversation with the pirate captains to look at her.

“It’s nothing, Mal. Just some stuff I’ll talk to you about later.” Nodding her head in acceptance, Mal went back to her previous conversation.

“I’ll bring some of the edited plans to you tomorrow so you can look them over.”

“Thanks, Jocelyn. So speaking of-”

_ CLANG _

Conversations died, and heads swiveled to look towards the source of the noise. Helia, daughter of Hades and the best cook they had, stood there with a fork and spatula still vibrating in her hands. Her apron was covered in blood, miscellaneous stains, and various burn marks, and her face was adorned with her trademark smirk.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s meal consists of salad, with ingredients straight from Ginny’s garden-” a spattering of applause carried through the platform, with a solitary whistle from Maddy. “-and some rabbit meat and venison from our much beloved hunters-” this time the applause was thunderous, the whole hall whooping and hollering for Yuan's gang. “-yeah, I get it, you like venison. NOW SHUT IT.”

Instant silence.

“Better. Now, thanks to the kitchen staff, which consists of me and Gil-” a wolf whistle shot out, coming from the benches occupied by Uma’s crew- oh  _ that’s _ where Harry was. “-and special thanks to Harriet’s crew, who picked some blackberries so we can all have dessert. Now then, dinner’s served!”

Yuan, Junior and Trois came in, each bearing a couple platters piled high with food, and started passing them out. Evie smiled as she grabbed a plate and fork from Gil, who was handing out plates and cutlery. Sure, it wasn’t a lot of food, but everyone ate enough to feel full, and none of it would give them food poisoning or indigestion like food on the Isle did.

Shoveling a bit of meat from a bowl onto her plate, Evie dug in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are a lot of unexplained things in this chapter which I will focus on in future chapters.  
> The major ones:  
> -Mal has wings. And tiny horns growing in, but those aren't mentioned. She is a fairy, so I gave her wings. Dragon wings, because I kinda got this feeling when reading the book that Mal and her mom are part of some dragon clan of fae.  
> -Jay is kinda the diplomatic one. I mean, he's really good at sneaking around and he also gets along with basically everyone, and if he focused on using those skills to fix smaller problems around the village, I can't see any major problems arising. Jay mainly focuses on keeping the various gangs from clashing with each other, because the whole 'lets work together' thing is still pretty new.  
> -Evie has become an alchemist. I'm not gonna spoil how, but it happened.  
> There's another major character who I haven't really introduced yet, but they're coming.  
> And for anyone confused about how the gangs work, it's basically village with different factions working together. The gangs who exist in the village are as follows:
> 
> The merchant's/shopkeeper's gang- led by Jocelyn Ratcliffe  
> The witch's gang- led by Mad Maddy  
> The hunter's gang- led by Shan Yuan  
> Pirate crew Hook- led by Harriet Hook  
> Pirate crew Uma- led by Uma  
> Mal's gang- led by Mal
> 
> Oh, and as for the food thing; on the Isle, they ate garbage. So I'm assuming most of the Isle kids didn't eat to much more than the safe stuff, since if they did, they would either get indigestion or worse, food poisoning. So that's why a large deer and a bunch of rabbits and some salad can feed six gangs worth of growing teenagers. They'll get better, but not immediately.


	3. Before Escape 1

_ Maleficent _ :

Damn them! Damn them all to hell! Pacing back and forth in her cell, the darkest of fairies seethed. All around her, other souls screamed out at the Auradonians who had put them into this prison, but Maleficent stayed silent.

She was the reason they all were there. There was a fail safe in her castle, which she had made in the unlikely case that she should ever perish. And after centuries as the most powerful being in the land, those insignificant pests had charmed a blade to pierce her heart. So Maleficent died, and her failsafe activated.

But magic is a force of nature; and life and death magic is something that few can understand, much less master. Maleficent’s failsafe was unstable, and when it activated, it did what it was designed to do. It’s magic reached across the spiritual planes and dimensions, searching for the dark evil of its mistress’ soul. But this was where it’s purpose was twisted. As it searched for Maleficent’s soul, it found other souls which were not hers, but shared the same innate inner evil. And so as it went along, it grabbed these souls from their deaths-in some cases lives-and pulled them along. However, the failsafe had the ability to absorb the natural energy that exists in all dimensions to power it, and so as it went it didn’t just drag the souls. It dragged the dimensions they were in along with it.

And then it found Maleficent, and stopped. And the dimensions crashed together. The inhabitants were confused, and frightened, as the lands they had lived on for generations shuddered. And then combined. People from different dimension found themselves meeting each other for the first time, and different times, ideals, and cultures collided. In any other situation, this would have resulted in bloodshed and destruction, as none of these nations trusted their newfound neighbors.

However, they all had much bigger problems.

Every dark soul had followed Maleficent’s back into life, and they each had the same purpose. Vengeance. Revenge against those who had taken away their power and goals, and they banded together under Maleficent to do so.

Faced with this threat, the kingdoms put aside their differences, and went to war against the villains. They scrambled to find a way to put the most efficient people in charge, which led to Mulan beating up half of the kingdoms’ greatest champions before she was elected High General. Under her expertise, the tide turned, and the kingdoms began to slowly defeat and imprison each of the villains, afraid that should they kill them, they would come alive once again. These villains were powerful, yes, but unlike the kingdoms, they were unable to put aside their pride and work together. Discord amongst them led to infighting, and soon, only the most powerful and terrible of the villains were left.

This led to one of the greatest battles in the history of these dimensions. Amidst the fighting and confusion of battle, many things transpired. To this day, many of those who were there don’t know exactly what happened. What is known is this.

Maleficent and her forces came upon the kingdom’s army with the goal of killing Prince Phillip. The people charged in; fought back against her hordes, as the heroes and champions engaged the greatest of the villains. At first, the powers of the side of evil seemed overwhelming.

But then Ursula was defeated. The siren had grown to giant sizes, and using her tentacles as whips, she was able to knock most of the heroes back with unerring accuracy. The only one who wasn’t was Tarzan, who was able to dodge and move amongst the slick appendages trying to crush him. Being so far from a source of water meant her powers were diminished greatly, and it was no surprise that she was overwhelmed when Tarzan was able to trick her into tangling her massive tentacles into a knot. Then she was shrunk, and imprisoned in a magic barrier; courtesy of Genie. And seeing one of the most powerful villains defeated, was the greatest morale booster there could have been. People began fighter harder, and soon more villains were defeated.

Madam Mim was using her shapeshifting to attack people; becoming a dragon or a charging bull, and then slipping away as a snake before she could be injured. Eventually she was tricked by Aladdin into becoming a bug, and was trapped in a jar by Peter Pan.

Jafar had been reanimated as a sorcerer, not a genie, and so it took time to defeat him, as they couldn’t simply force him back into a lamp. He was only stopped when Hercules jumped off of Pegasus directly above him, and fell close enough that he was able to punch him into unconsciousness.

The Evil Queen’s method of fighting was to use her potions to turn invisible or bring deadly smog into the air. By doing so, no one was able to directly challenge her to battle. However, Mulan had realized with Ursula out of the battle, it was safe to have water there. So she asked King Triton to flood the battlefield, and then followed to splashes coming from nothing to find the Evil Queen. The water also helped to douse the fire that had been keeping anyone from getting close to Hades, and the god was then captured by Li Shang and a few princes.

Maleficent had taken her dragon form, but this time had taken to the sky. She rained down fire upon the heroes without getting close enough for them to return the favor. Then something happened that had never happened before.

Fairy Godmother joined the fight directly. Her kind wasn’t actually proper fae at all, but rather wishgranters, who would use their magic to fulfill the wishes of those pure of heart. Up until that point, she had been on the sidelines healing the wounded. But now she did what none had ever dared; she used her magic in combat. Summoning large enchanted vines that lashed up and grabbed at Maleficent’s legs, dragging her towards the ground as she struggled against them. She snapped back against them, almost pulling free, only for every able bodied hero to tackle her to the ground. It was a short fight after that.

Now the villains were imprisoned in a temporary prison while they waited for this so-called ‘Isle’ was constructed for them.

And Maleficent raged.

She knew she could not escape right now; they had made certain of that with their enchanted iron cell. Was she to just waste away on that island until she died a second time? The failsafe would not work a second time; it had overloaded from the momentous burden that it had performed.

Pacing over to the small window they had granted her, Maleficent thought of what she could do. She was the last of her kind, the final child of the Dragon Court. When she died, so too would that power. Unless…

Had anyone been there, they would have shivered at the terrible smile that grew on her face. Oh, it was true there were many enchantments around her cell; all of them made to prevent it’s destruction. But the magic contained within didn’t hold any restrictions on creation magic.

Maleficent stared outside at the Isle they were making with magic and technology, and slowly she began to use a type of forbidden magic that had not been seen in centuries. A type of magic which had been forgotten by all but a few.

It was known as the Heir Spell, and it had been made millennia ago by a fae king. This king had neared the end of his lifetime, yet had bore no children, for his queen was male, and they could produce none. So using his magic, he crafted a spell which could create a child for him. A child created of his own blood, who went on to become the next king of the fae.

And throughout the centuries, as one king turned to the next, the Heir Spell was used a few more times, and became fairly widespread before it was banned along with the rest of creation magic. But Maleficent knew it, and had a different idea for it’s use. Since it was a spell that used the caster’s blood to create a child, strictly speaking, it could be used to create a second Maleficent. A child who was  _ her _ in every fiber of her DNA, and who would continue her revenge and villainy when she was gone.

Maleficent took a moment to steady her thoughts and magic, focusing on the blood inside of her. Then, she began to chant in an ancient tongue; one whose words had more meaning than English could translate.

And as she chanted, she felt the magic forming inside her; understanding her nature and biology, and copying it. Inside her blood, this new child grew; not physically-not yet-but the magic that made her began to create what was necessary to make a life. And then came the last part of the spell, releasing the magic from her blood so that it may take shape. Lifting her hand, Maleficent went to make a cut on her hand, only to gasp as she was forcibly stopped.

The disgusting enchantments on her cell, which prevented any type of escape, apparently also prevented the inhabitant from performing any self harm.

How disgustingly  _ good _ of Fairy Godmother.

Maleficent hissed as she felt the energy continue to build, the spell still going, knowing that if it got too high, the energy would become unstable, and all would be for naught. Thinking quickly, Maleficent sent out tendrils of the spell, and attached them to the other beings in the building; the imprisoned villains. After all, her child was already ready to be born, and feeding any more of the spell’s energy into her might cause defects. However, the other villains all had blood in their veins too, and if she could siphon the spell’s energy into them, then she could wait until she was outside of the cell, and then end it.

Maleficent spent two days like that, siphoning energy into the other villains, before the Isle was finished, and they were teleported onto it. Even feeling as her magic was bound by the barrier, she smiled, and pricked her finger with one of her sharp nails. And as the drop of blood hit the air, and the magic was released, a new life was born.

The life of Mal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my idea for how the different Disney worlds and time periods would be able to coexist, as well as how the Isle kids were born. Kinda far-fetched, but then again, so is having a giant magic barrier covered island for a bunch a villains.  
> Oh, and this is also why I think the villains are alive. Good or not, I don't think Auradon would have been keen on bringing their greatest threats back to life.  
> Anyway, so basically, the Isle kids were born when their respective parents were cut deep enough to draw blood. I'll get into different gender, twins, multiple kids, and other biology stuff in future chapters.  
> Also I can't write battle scenes. At all. Sorry.
> 
> Also, this is a special shout-out to my younger sister, who I will refer to as M.  
> M has been trying to guess which pseuds on here is mine (because I challenged her) and she was correct! However, when confronting me about it, she completely mispronounced the name. So this is my way of saying she was correct, but I refuse to admit it until she pronounces it correctly (because I am petty).


	4. Before Escape 2

_ Narrator: _

It started with the birth of Mal.

The Isle of the Lost was a prison. True, the heroes put the villains houses there-mainly because they didn’t want such remainders of evil clogging up their precious Auradon-but it was still a prison. At first, it contained only the major villains; the biggest and baddest of them all. Then they began throwing in the goblins, the minions, the henchmen and crooks and various criminals who had all broken the law in some way. Now, the lowest levels of these were people who didn’t actually deserve being here. People who didn’t fit into the perfect utopia of Auradon that the heroes were creating. And these people despaired, true. But unlike the villains, they had hope. Hope that if they proved they were good, if they really redeemed themselves, they’d be let off the Isle.

Years passed, and the Isle separated into two parts; the evil, and the semi-good. The semigood stayed by the harbor where shipments would come in. They survived off the garbage of Auradon, and created a society where they could at least pretend that they could live normal lives. They became a small town within the city of the isle. And they were who the evil tormented.

The evil were those who embraced their dark heritage, and searched for ways off the Isle through darker, less moral routes. Among the evil, there were the children born on the Isle, who had never known anywhere other than their prison. And these children were shaped by it.

Many of the villains had learned-through gossip and the interrogation of Maleficent’s minions-of why babies had randomly appeared from their injuries, and of the Heir Spell. By then most of them had realized the same thing Maleficent had realized in her cell, and so decided to raise the children, however there were some problems. Although the Heir Spell had given each of them a child, the circumstances of Maleficent’s spell casting had created some warped effects in the children. Some of them had ended up a different gender than their parent, while others found themselves faced with twins.

The end result was the same however; all the children were different from their parents. Except of course for Mal, who as the original product of the spell, was a perfect clone of her mother. But as Maleficent began to raise her child, she realized something she hadn’t before. Something that not even she could have foreseen.

For every child of the Isle who had magical blood in their veins-the witches, fae, sirens, and other creatures-the anti-magic nature of the barrier was suppressing that side of them. For some it was a gift; Uma ended up with legs and human characteristics, and she was never crippled by the lack of open water in the way her mother was. For Mal, it was a curse. Her fae nature was suppressed, keeping her from feeling comfortable in her own skin, and from ever truly being able to inherit her mother’s power.

Scorned by her child’s sudden uselessness, Maleficent began to ignore Mal. She couldn’t look at her without seeing all the wasted time and energy that went into something that ended up a failure. In turn, this made Mal wish more than anything to have her mother notice her. She wanted her mother to acknowledge that she loved Mal, and to tell her that she was proud of her.

That acknowledgement never came.

However, what Maleficent viewed as a failure, others did not. Mal had something no fae had ever had before. Human empathy. By suppressing her fae instincts, Mal had been forced to learn her body in the same way a human had to. This was unlike a true fae, who knew their body’s limits and strengths from birth. This was what gave the fae their unnatural grace; the ability to control their bodies perfectly, and know themselves intimately at all times.

Mal grew, and learned, and struggled with the other children. By doing this, she made a friend. Jay was quick, and graceful, and although Mal didn’t realize it, the suppressed fae in her subconsciously recognized Jay’s silver tongue and grace as attractive qualities in a fae. As such, Mal was willing to put up with the son of Jafar, and they began to unknowingly create the beginnings of the Isle’s power hierarchy.

They became a gang. They weren’t the first gang; that would be Harriet Hook, whose crew consisted of Sammy Smee, and two other scruffy pirate children named Johnny and Roger. They had stuck together from birth, and within their numbers, there was safety.

The other children on the Isle realized this too, and began forming alliances. None of them were true gangs; none loyal in the way that Mal and Jay and Harriet’s crew were, but it became the beginning of something greater.

Over the years, most of the small alliances fractured, from betrayals and lack of any real bonds. At the same time, the true gangs grew greater, and more of them emerged.

Harriet’s crew gained more members. Most of them were pirate children, with a couple of bigger names within them. However, she didn’t have all the pirate kids, because a second crew had emerged to compete with hers. Although Harriet’s crew were older and had more experience, Uma’s crew were fiercely loyal to their captain, and followed her with a fanatic passion that seemed unthinkable to those outside them. These two crews ruled the Isle’s dock system, and had first pick of all the Auradon shipments.

The witch covens of the Isle had a separate school for their children, but this didn’t mean that the witch kids didn’t interact with the rest of the Isle. And some of the most powerful of the witches were part of the gang led by Mad Maddy, daughter of Mad Madam Mim. They might not have been able to access magic, but they still had the odd viewpoint of the world that none but the witches could see, which gave them their own sort of power.

Then there were the forests; if they could be called that, when they were made of nothing but dead trees and giant brambles. Nonetheless, that was where Shan Yuan’s gang lurked, each of them united by a shared love of hunting and pushing themselves to the brink of physical exertion.

Many villains had taken up shopkeeping as a job, and made their children work in their stores. Most of these kids had grouped around Jocelyn Ratcliffe, who had a brain hardwired for economics, and who was able to help them actually gain profit.

The marketplace and central Isle was neutral ground, ruled over by Mal’s gang. Jay knew basically everyone on the Isle, and he used that to Mal’s advantage; she knew what gang alliances and wars would erupt before they even happened. And if any skirmishes broke out on her territory, they would be put down with immediate force. This was made easier with the rest of Mal’s gang, most of whom were enforcers who followed Jay’s command.

Evie and Carlos both came later, both of them loners who had cringed from the gangs’ power struggles. They were both geniuses, and when Mal not only recognized that, but also befriended them, they became hers, and took their places in her inner circle. Evie was incredibly adept at chemistry, and at Mal’s urging, she studied biology and medicine, becoming one of the first healers of the Isle. This also made Evie politically untouchable, as she opened her doors to all the gangs, for a price.

Carlos’ knack for fixing the broken technology of the Isle, and inventing new, better things, was unparalleled. But unlike Evie, he only invented for his friends, and spent most of his time hiding away with the rest of the gang.

Under Mal, was a group of some of the Isle’s most intelligent, all of whom had flocked to be under the protection of the Isle’s greatest predator. Anthony Tremaine, Ginny Gothel, and Claudine Frollo all had realized that Mal was their best chance to stay out of their parent’s spheres of influence, and so had devoted themselves to her, in return for her protection. When they ran from home, she hid them. And so Mal became known as the Dragon of the Isle; one who protected her own, and rained fire on all who threatened them.

In another life, none of this would have happened. Prince Ben would create a proclamation allowing Isle children to come to Auradon, and so Mal and her three closest friends would be torn from the Isle in one of the most crucial parts of their gang’s development. Anthony, Ginny, and Claudine wouldn’t have been able to leave their homes, and would continue being miserable. Uma would seize Mal’s territory, and create an imbalance of power among the gangs which would lead to chaos.

But in this life, Prince Ben’s proclamation never made it into being. The young prince instead chose to create better storm damage preventions, so that the magical animals of the kingdom wouldn’t need to be so afraid, and fewer flooding would occur around the coasts. This was mainly due to the odd weather patterns resulting from Auradon’s many small kingdoms with differing biomes.

And so if it was left to those in Auradon, none of the children would ever leave the Isle.

Luckily, Auradon didn’t have a say in the matter.


	5. Before Escape 3

_Witchdoctor_ :

Freddie Facilier had always been an odd girl. You see, Freddie had never really been alone. Everywhere she went, so too did her shadow. It was rare for a child to be born with their shadow already having the spiritual power to move independently; most requiring years of study and meditation to learn. Yet little Freddie’s shadow would move.

As time went on, other spirits that existed Between came to her; lurking in the corners of her vision and whispering things in her ears. They weren’t magic, but they were everywhere. In a way, it was almost better that she had grown up on the Isle, rather than Auradon where she’d be judged and bullied. In the prison of the darkest souls, the girl and her shadows fit in fine.

The shadows weren’t always helpful, their aid requiring a price. But if there was one thing Freddie had picked up from being in Jocelyn’s gang of shopkeepers, it was that you never wanted to be in the debt of others; instead, make it so that they were in your debt.

So Freddie would help the shadows. She gave them a bit of her energy here and there, and allowed them to rest in her own shadow when the light became too intense. In return, the shadows helped her. They would bring her things and tell her secrets, and so this odd not-quite-friendship continued onwards. So when they came to her one day looking more solid and dark than ever before, she learned how Carlos de Vil’s machine that had poked a hole in the anti-magic barrier.

At first she was shocked, because she knew Carlos was a genius who built some of the most useful things on the island, but a _hole_ in the _barrier_? That was the closest to the outside world anyone in this miserable place would ever get! And to think it was done by acci-

Freddie and her shadow froze in place, her thoughts crashing to a halt.

 _If Carlos could let magic_ into _the Isle, couldn’t he let them_ out _?_

Her mind suddenly racing, Freddie thought for a second of who to go to with this information. On one hand was her father, who still didn’t know about her little deal with the Between spirits. On the other hand was Jocelyn, who was the closest Freddie had ever had to a mom/older sister. Who had taught her knowledge free of charge, and allowed Freddie into her home when her father had one of his shadow freak-outs.

When put that way, the choice was obvious.

“Hey~, Freddie!” CJ dropped down from somewhere and landed next to the girl, careful not to step on her shadow.

“CJ. What a surprise seeing you here. I thought you’d be chasing after the King of Thieves right now.” Freddie smirked sardonically at the other girl, who rolled her ombre eyes and planted a hand on her hip.

“Puh-lease. Malsie called her circle off to go fix some sort of problem. I think it has to do with _parent business_ , and you couldn’t pay me to stand in the same room as an annoyed Dragon Queen.”

“By Dragon Queen, do you mean Maleficent or Mal?” Freddie started walking off towards Ratcliffe Bank, which is where Jocelyn could usually be found. CJ fell into step next to her easily even as she scoffed and flipped her fawn hair.

“Jeez, Freddie. Obviously it’s Malsie. As if I’d call anyone _but_ our beloved Dragon a queen.”

Freddie could understand what she meant. Maleficent controlled through fear, but with Mal, she protected her own with a fierce viciousness that didn’t always work, but had gained her respect from every gang on the Isle. Even Uma, who was known not to get along with the purple haired fae, held respect for Mal.

Queen, indeed.

“Anyway, I just thought I’d _swing_ by before I head home. Harriet and Harry were having another pissing contest over Uma when I left earlier, and so now I’m hoping they’ve simmered down a little.”

Freddie let out a small huff of amusement, her shadow pulling aside a tarp so she could duck underneath a gap in a broken fence. She exchanged a wave with Percy Duchess as she passed behind his mother’s shop, before scrambling up a small metal ladder to get onto the roof. She was unsurprised when CJ was there before her; the girl being the best climber on the Isle.

“So~ Freddie, got any gossip for me?” CJ waggled her eyebrows in an exaggerated manner that Freddie would never admit was endearing.

“Well, Junior got into yet another fight with your brother-”

“Come on~, Freddie! Harry and Junior fight every other week! I want the _juicy_ stuff!” CJ’s eyes almost sparkled in the dim lighting that the Isle’s cloud layer provided. Freddie smiled a little at her girlfriend’s enthusiasm, her shadow laughing behind her.

“Well… you know how Ace is completely mooning over Percy? He was planning to ask him out this weekend after the heads’ meeting. With _flowers_.” CJ let out an excited little gasp, her face lighting up with a smile.

“Oh my evilness! It’s _about time_ ! I mean- Wait.” CJ’s face scrunched up as she realized something. “You said was. He _was_ going to, and that means he isn’t anymore. Do _not_ tell me that that little maggot chickened out! Oh, if he starts sulking again I’m gonna set him straight. You just watch me.”

CJ’s mini rant fell into a storm of angry mutters, punctuated here and there with a scoff. Freddie let her go on for a bit, before she cut her off.

“Actually, no.” CJ’s glare was broken by a set of confused blinks, her eyebrows rising. “The truth is, Hansel found out about it, and stole the flowers from him. You know, because of that time with the twins and the pigpen cipher.”

“That son of a bastard!” CJ was actually angry now, her face contorted into a visage of death. “I’ll show that prissy prince what it means to mess with one of our people! I’m gonna take care of this now. Thanks for the info, Freddie!”

CJ darted into Freddie’s space to press a quick kiss to her cheek, and after waving to her shadow, she darted off across the Isle’s roofs. Freddie watched her go with a fond smile, before resuming her walk.

She certainly understood why CJ wanted to get back at Hansel. CJ was part of Mal’s gang; to be specific, she was Jay’s right hand. Ace was also in Mal’s gang, but he was one of Evie’s people. Nonetheless, they both were under the Dragon’s protection, and they all looked out for one another. Prince Hansel of the Southern Isles-who was not strictly a prince due to all the villain’s titles being stripped-was unaffiliated with the gangs, and therefore CJ could retaliate without started a gang war.

 _Plus_ , Freddie thought as she finally reached Ratcliffe Bank, _Hansel was a douche who none of the gangs particularly liked._

Pushing open the iron doors of the bank, Freddie marched past the queue people waiting in line, up to where Jocelyn was manning the counter.

“Freddie?” Jocelyn blinked at her, observing the girl, before her eyes steeled. Leaning back in her chair, she called out at the back door. “Debra! Your break’s over!”

Standing up as the dead eyed woman took her place, Jocelyn led Freddie out back where their gang would meet each night. When they stopped, Freddie gave her shadow a nod. The dark form quickly stretched and darted across the space, searching out eavesdroppers. Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed at the sight, and she gave the younger girl her full attention.

“Freddie. What is it?” Jocelyn was every inch the commanding leader in that moment, but her eyes were concerned, and Freddie remembered again what had drawn her to the Ratcliffe in the first place. Her shadow signaled the all clear, and Freddie drew in a deep breath.

“I know how to leave the Isle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am now going to be writing from college. Yay!
> 
> Now, in this chapter is Freddie, who is one of my favorites, yet who was never really developed in the animated shorts. She runs her dad's shop, while he's off being a principal, and so she's part of the shopkeepers gang under Jocelyn. Her right hand, actually.  
> Plus she's got a super awesome shadow.  
> Other characters mentioned are CJ Hook, Perseus "Percy" Duchess, and Ace Hearts.  
> CJ has appeared before.  
> Percy is the son of Madame Medusa, from The Rescuers, and I got the last name Duchess from Diamond Duchess, who was the character Madame Medusa was inspired by from the book The Rescuers is based off of. Thought that was a nice little homage to the original book.  
> And Ace is the Prince of Hearts, who like all Wonderlandians is a little off from the norm. He's not nearly as crazy as his mother, thankfully. He's also hugely interested in fashion and potions, which is why he and Evie get along fabulously.
> 
> I think that's everything. You can ask questions in the comments, and I'll probably respond.


	6. After Escape 18

18

 _Dragon Queen_ :

Mal ran through the trees, feeling entirely pissed at the world around her. Her skin had been tingling for days, and no amount of scratching would alleviate the feeling. On top of that, after the scare with the hunters, everyone had been looking to her for reassurance that they were still safe. But no matter how much she soothed their fears, she knew that everyone was still on edge. Minor scuffles were breaking out between more people, and the entire air of the village had become subdued. Before, they had been excited; overjoyed at their freedom, and laughing freely. And now… it was like being back under their parents’ thumbs.

Why did everyone just expect her to have all the answers? She had only ever led her gang before, and there had always been her mother with power over her. Now she had become the one with the power, and she…

Mal slowly came to a stop, a hand reaching out towards the nearest tree as she panted slightly from exertion. Her head tilted forward, bangs hiding her eyes as she faced the truth of her anger. The hunters had threatened them, coming close to undoing everything they had tried so hard to create. She could protect her people by destroying those in Auradon who came too close. She knew she had that power. But if she did that, she’d be like Maleficent.

She was afraid of becoming like her mother. Of hating everyone around her, and ruling only through fear and power. If she terrified the citizens of Auradon into compliance, they would think her just like her mother. They’d see all the villain kids as their parents. Then that cycle of fear would never break, and they would be hunted forever.

Hiding the way they were was taking it’s toll on everyone. They had to watch every move they made now; they couldn’t run free the way they had on the Isle. They couldn’t reveal their presence to Auradon. They’d just be shipped back to the Isle, to their parents, and they’d become drowned in misery yet again.

That couldn’t happen. _She_ **_wouldn’t_ ** _let it happen_.

_SNAP!_

Mal spun around at the sound of a branch cracking behind her, body dropping into a ready stance. Eyes scanned the trees for movement, snapping onto the source near instantly. There was a body--female, at least 70 years old--on the ground. A basket had spilled near her, filled to the brim with the blackberries that grew near here. On a pouch on the side of the basket, a flip phone was securely tucked within the fabric. A meter away was a stick-no, a cane. So apparently an old woman had fallen. Mal drifted behind a thicker tree, observing to see what would happen next.

Groaning, the woman shifted slightly, a feeble hand reaching out for her cane. It was too far. The woman tried to shift closer, only to cry out in pain, a hand reflexively going to her ankle. Twisted and swollen, it was most likely broken.

Looking around, the woman called out a few times for help, but her old voice was too quiet to echo with any real range. _And even if it was loud enough_ , Mal thought, pulsing out her magic to get a sense of the surrounding wood, _there was no one around for miles_.

Mal narrowed her eyes, her teeth gritting together. There was absolutely no way that the woman would be able to get back to the nearest town on her own. Shifting in place, Mal worried her bottom lip between her teeth, torn on what to do.

The woman tried to crawl again, and fat, globby tears began to trickle down her cheeks from the pain. Seeing her struggle, Mal’s mind was set.

_Start counting sheep,_

_Then fall asleep._

The woman goes limp on the forest floor, unconscious, and Mal approaches, the glow fading from her eyes. Bending down to check on her injury, Mal grimaced. It was definitely broken, and Mal hadn’t tested any healing spells for mending bones yet.

 _Better to let a doctor fix it. Still,_ Mal’s eyes wandered back to the woman’s face, which was still wet from the tears. _No reason I can’t make it easier for her._

_Magic flowing through her veins,_

_Take away all of her pains._

A soft glow pulsed under her skin for a moment, the bruising on her foot clearing up slightly. Straightening, Mal took a quick moment to grab the cane and basket, and recall the direction of the closest town.

_Weather, feather, let us fly_

_Lift us up into the sky_

The old woman and Mal rose from the ground, going through the branches and leaves until they were floating above the forest’s canopy. Focusing on her magic, Mal zoomed off with the unconscious lady following her towards Kleindorf. It was a small town that was on the edge of the Schwarzwald, and if she brought the woman there, she would be able to get medical treatment.

It was only a couple of miles away, and as she got close, Mal slowed and dropped down beneath the canopy. Channeling her magic into her eyes, she felt her vision increase to the point she could see the houses that made up the edge of town. In front of one of them, a man was mowing his lawn, and there was also a young girl riding her bike around the cul de sac that the houses surrounded. If Mal simply dropped the woman off at a door and rang the doorbell, the mower would see her. Then again, she glanced appraisingly at the girl. Maybe she could be of use to her.

_Upside down, under, fool the eyes,_

_Create my illusion, arise_

Bursting into creation, a sparkling butterfly flitted its way into the girl’s eyesight. Immediately, the girl’s changed directions, and headed towards the butterfly. Crooking her fingers, Mal brought the butterfly back towards her. As it crossed over the lawn, the girl got off her bike, leaving behind her property with the assured air that it wouldn’t be stolen. Ugh, _Auradonians_.

The butterfly glinted in the sunlight, traveling closer to the edge of the wood where Mal waited. As the girl approached, Mal was able to see her more clearly. She couldn’t have been older than eight, and had her hair tied into a bobbing braid on the back of her head.

Mal would have to do this carefully, if she didn’t want the girl to freak out. The last thing she needed was a panicked kid. The butterfly reached the wood, and landed on a nearby tree. Giggling, the girl walked up to it and stared with large hazel eyes at the light refracting off it’s prismatic wings.

“Hello.” The girl gasped as the butterfly seemed to speak to her, unaware that it was actually Mal, speaking through it.

“Hi! I think your wings’re pretty! M’ name’s Colleen. Who’re you?” She spoke with the excited, all too trusting rambling all young children had at one point. Mal almost cringed.

“I am the Fairy of the Forest,” Mal lied unashamedly. “And-”

“You’re a _fairy_ ! Oh _wow_ ! That’s so cool! ‘Re you my fairy godmother? I thought only princesses got fairy godmothers!” Colleen bounced in place, hands clasped in front of her and eyes suddenly sparkling. Mal blanched, unseen by the young girl. Just the thought of being mistaken as a _fairy godmother_ \- ugh.

“No, no. I am just a random fairy in the woods, and most certainly not a fairy godmother of _any sort_.” Mal felt marginally bad for how that seemed to suddenly make Colleen sad.

‘And I would like your help! Please,” she added belatedly, remembering that Auradonians used useless words like that one.

“How can _I_ help _you_? You’re a fairy, and Mom says fairies can do anything! 'm just a kid.”

“Yes, you are a kid, but I’m a tiny little butterfly.”

“Oh,” Colleen tilted her head to the side. “I guess that makes sense. So what d’you need help with?”

Mal breathed out a sigh of relief. Finally.

“I came across an old woman in the woods. She hurt herself, and so I need to bring her to a doctor. But I can’t let anyone see me, so I need you to bring an adult here to help her.”

“Why can’t you let anyone see you?” Colleen frowned. “You’re a super pretty butterfly. Honestly.”

Mal smiled a little at that. The kid was pretty cute, and she kinda reminded Mal of Carlos, what with her stumbling over her words to try and comfort a butterfly. Thinking about her answer, Mal mentally shrugged. Might as well tell the truth if a lie isn’t necessary.

“It’s not that. I just look similar to an evil fairy, and so when people see me they get scared.” Mal smiled sardonically. Similar indeed.

“That’s not _fair_ !” Colleen suddenly shouts, her eyes tearing up. _Shit_ , Mal panics. “Why d’people always act so mean! You don’t mean to look like someone evil…” she sniffles. “And... and I didn’t mean to not look like Mom and Dad.”

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Mal hadn’t really thought about it, but now that she mentioned it, Colleen didn’t look like the local townspeople or Evie. If anything, she looked almost like Jay. So it stood to reason she likely had ancestors from Agrabah, but probably didn’t know she was adopted. And had apparently been getting bullied by others over it. Typical Auradon. Still so unaccepting of those who were different from the status quo.

On the Isle it wasn’t a problem, because there were never enough people from a single culture for there to be anything but minorities, but here in Auradon, the kingdoms were still very separated in their cultural and traditional views. Not many citizens were willing to move to other kingdoms, so there weren’t many foreigners in each place. And so people like Colleen ended up becoming outsiders in a place that should have been their home.

Mal sighs, dropping down from the tree branches to land on the ground with a thump. Startled by the noise, Colleen looks up from where she had been rubbing at her eyes. Seeing Mal, her eyes get even wider, and Mal braces herself for another outburst.

But instead Colleen smiles at her, blinking her wide, wet eyes and says, “Wow! You’re really pretty, Ms. Fairy!”

And Mal…

…

_“Wow, you’re really pretty! Like a little dragon princess!”_

_“I’m not a prissy princess! You take that back!”_

_“No need to get rude! ‘Sides, you’re more of a queen anyway. Nice to meet you, Dragon Queen.”_

...

Mal smiles back. Crouching down, she takes Colleen’s face in her hands and uses her thumbs to wipe away her tears. The girl sniffled a bit more, some snot bubbling at the bottom of her nostrils, and it was _so gross_. But at least she wasn’t sobbing like before.

“Thank you very much, Colleen. I think you look pretty too,” she told her, managing to get a watery smile out of the girl. “Now, do you think you could go and get an adult over here for me? I don’t want to keep her waiting too long.” She nodded to the side, where the old woman was now laying visible.

Colleen blinked her large eyes at the woman, and then looked back at Mal, who was stepping back to leave.

“...Hey, Ms. Fairy? Why didn’t you just let me see her in the first place? Why’d you take the time to talk with me?”

Mal paused, because it certainly would have been _simpler_ to let the girl see the old woman without revealing herself. But…

“Because… it would have scared you,” Mal smiled at Colleen, and it was more sincere this time. “If you had seen her like that, just laying on the ground with no reason for it-” _you might have thought she was dead. It might have traumatized you_. “-that would have been scary. And I didn’t want you to be scared. Scaring people for no reason…”

_...Is what Mother would do._

“It isn’t something I want to do.”

Colleen nodded at that, waving at Mal as she ran back, going over to a brightly painted yellow house. Mal moved back into the forest, hiding behind the thick needles of an evergreen. Within minutes, Colleen came back, leading a middle aged woman by the hand. Upon seeing the old woman laying on the ground, the woman broke away from Colleen and ran ahead to crouch by the elder, checking for signs of consciousness. Meanwhile Colleen stayed slightly behind, and was looking around at the trees, presumably searching for Mal.

Smirking a little, Mal concentrated on the illusion she had crafted earlier. The butterfly floated over into Colleen’s sight, and the girl turned to look at it, demeanor visibly brightening.

_Pop_

With a small sound, the illusion burst into fragments, looking like a firework of sparkles. Colleen gasped in excitement at the display, grinning and whispering something that Mal couldn’t hear. The woman turned around, but by then all traces of magic had disappeared.

Seeing that her job was done, Mal whispered magic into herself, and flew home. Even as wind made her eyes water, the fae found herself smiling.

_I'm not that similar to Mother after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is kinda long! One thing that happened was that I wasn't expecting to become attached to Colleen. She started as a plot point to show the difference between Mal and Maleficent, and she evolved into a far more fleshed out persona than I expected.
> 
> Another thing is Mal; she's kind of off character a little, because I couldn't figure out a good way to write her, especially her interactions with an Auradonian child like Colleen, but I tried. Whatever.
> 
> Also, I've finished fleshing out my major plot points and characters, so now I'll be able to start writing drabbles from POV of other characters than the main four. Yay!


	7. Before Escape 4

4

 _Siren_ :

Uma sighed for what was probably the hundredth time. She was _bored_ . The heads’ meeting should have started half an hour ago, but one of the heads had been caught up in _parent business_. So until Shan Yuan could ditch his father, they were stuck waiting. Usually she would have annoyed Harriet into picking a fight, but the other captain was exhausted enough that she was able to ignore Uma’s jabs.

To her right, Harry was entertaining himself by silently flirting with Gil. The subtlety might have worked better if Gil’s face wasn’t blushing as much. Theirs was an unexpected romance, but looking back on it, it wasn’t entirely surprising that they had gotten together.

Harry was Uma’s first mate; her right hand in every way that mattered. Together they were one of the wildest and dangerous forces on the Isle.

 _How fitting then_ , Uma mused, _that such terrible predators were tied to such an innocent creature as Gil._

Most of the Isle looked at the three of them, and they scratched their heads and wondered. Because Uma and Harry? Everyone could see why they hung around one another. They both had the same fierce temper, the same lust for freedom and adventure. Gil was just the son of Gaston and a prostitute, and although he had inherited some of his father’s looks and strength, he was nowhere near the sharpest knife in the drawer. So why was he a part of Uma’s crew, much less one of her two closest companions?

Looking at Gil’s flushed face with it’s tiny, pleased smile, Uma could still see the face of the boy she had met years before, when she was only six years old.

When she had gained her first friend.

\---

Since she had been old enough to walk, Uma had served her mother. At Ursula’s Fish and Chips, Ursula would fry up anything vaguely edible, and serve it up in chipped plates and metal bowls. The oil from the fryer would harden the food remains into the plate unless removed, and that’s where Uma came in. It was her job to wash the dishes, until they were clean enough to gain Ursula’s approval. It was a hard task for a girl who could barely reach the sink, but she would do it; until her hands ached from scrubbing, and her arms shook from the effort of it.

Back then, Uma had no power or crew; she had not yet won the race that gave her her ship or met Harry Hook and earned his undying loyalty. She was alone. And she continued existing this way, until one day a small knock came to the back door.

Uma cast a quick glance over to the door before she dismissed it. If it was important, they would have just broken in. But the knocking continued, and after a minute of relentless tapping, Uma got fed up and slammed open the door.

 **“What do you want.”** She hissed, glaring at the dirt covered boy standing in front of her. His curly blond hair spilled out from under a cap, and his dark eyes squinted at her through oddly long lashes.

“Are you Ursula?”

 _What._ Uma was thrown for a moment, because _hello_. She was obviously his age, and her oceanic form had never emerged, so she had legs instead of tentacles.

“Do I _look_ like Ursula?” The boy tilted his head at her, a dubious look plastered on his face.

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never met her, and I know she can shapeshift. You could be trying to trick me.”

“What would I gain from tricking you?! I don’t even know who you are!” Uma exploded, her temper getting the better of her before she could stop it. In response, the boy grinned at her with a crooked smile, cocking a thumb at himself.

“I’m Gil!”

“...”

“...”

Uma shut the door in his face. Turning to go back to washing dishes, she felt her eye twitch involuntarily as the knocking started up again. Spinning around, she slammed open the door again.

“ _What_.” She snarled, thoroughly fed up with this nuisance.

“Teach me to swim, Ms. Ursula!” The boy smiled at her. Uma resisted the urge to pull out her own hair.

“I’m not Ursula, you idiot! And-”

Pausing, Uma took a moment to glance back at the mountain of dirty dishes that still filled the sink. A sly smile stole across her face, and she turned back to Gil with a renewed vigor.

“Hey Gil. How about this: if you wash all the dishes in the kitchen, I’ll teach you how to swim.” Holding out a hand, the other boy eagerly grabbed it and shook.

“Oh wow! Thanks a bunch Not-Ursula!”

“It’s **Uma.** Remember the name.”

For the next hour, Uma got to sit back and rest, while Gil cleaned all the dishes in the sink. She kept a careful eye on the boy though, because who would agree to scrub dishes for _swimming_? He must have an ulterior motive, and maybe it was dumb to let him inside, but Uma has always been more curious than careful.

“I’m done!” Gil announced blithely to Uma, as if she _can’t see that for herself_. But Uma pastes on a smile, and walks him to the door.

“Are you gonna teach me to swim now, Uma?”

“Oh yes, of course! There’s some water outside for swimming.” Holding the door open, she waits for Gil to walk out(which he immediately does, the idiot), and then slams the door in his dirty face.

“Oh, um, Uma? Are you gonna teach me now?” His annoying voice is muffled by the door, and Uma can’t help but shake her head at his obliviousness.

“Are you _stupid_ ? I’m not teaching you _nothing_!”

“Well, yeah. Cause if you taught me nothing I wouldn’t learn anything.”

Uma’s eye twitched, the only sign of her _utter annoyance_ at Gil’s continued talking.

“Leave, you idiot! You’re not learning anything from me!” For a moment there was blessed silence.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I guess you probably are pretty busy right now. Well, I-uh, I’ll see you later!” Gil’s footsteps tapped out a fading rhythm, while Uma contemplated murder. How _stupid_ was he?

\---

Incredibly stupid.

Uma stared at the smiling face of Gil, who had come back the next day with the same request.

“Teach me to swim, Uma!”

Uma sighed. But if he was stupid enough to come back…

“Wash the dishes first.”

“Ok!”

And so he washed, and asked, and was locked out. But he came back the next day with the same stupid grin. Again, and again. Uma couldn’t understand this boy who did the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Surely he would eventually get tired of it? But as the days turned to weeks, and he continued to return, Uma began to realize that Gil wasn’t going to stop.

It ended up becoming a routine of sorts. In the evening Uma would let Gil in, and he would wash the dishes. Nothing changed, but so did _everything_ . One day, Uma was startled to realize that she had come to _anticipate_ Gil’s visits. In fact, she _enjoyed_ his company. Without realizing it, the young boy had become someone who she could even call a _friend_.

Uma resolved to get rid of this newfound weakness.

\---

“No! Move your arms like _this_ .” Grabbing Gil’s hands, Uma manhandled him into doing a proper breaststroke. “You need to _cup_ the water, not _smack it_.”

“Oh.” He copied her movements a few times; hesitantly at first, but gaining confidence. It was almost enough to make Uma smile. _Almost_.

“So why exactly did you want to learn to swim?”

“Huh?” He blinked his large brown eyes at her, tilting his head in confusion. “Oh, that? Well, Dad is always trying to get me and my brothers to learn hunting stuff from him, but I don’t really like hunting. And Dad doesn’t like that, so he doesn’t like me. So he keeps throwing me into the river by our house when I annoy him. It’s shallow enough that I can push off the bottom to get to the bank, but it would be easier if I could swim, cause then I won’t have to fight the current so much.”

“…”

“...Uma?”

 _“_ **_What. Did you just. Say?_ ** ”

“Um, well-”

“YOU IDIOT!” Uma dunked him underwater for a moment, then dragged him back up to face her. “Are you telling me that for the entire time we’ve known each other, you’ve been in danger of drowning, _and you never thought to tell me_?”

“...yes?”

Uma sucked in a deep breath and dunked her head underwater to scream her frustration into the salty water of the harbor. Why was Gil so… _dumb_ ! She had no idea why he was so naive, and she _didn’t find it endearing_. Not at all! Surfacing for air, what with having lost it all by screaming, she gave Gil the most intimidating glare she could muster.

“Gil. When you have a life threatening problem, _you are supposed to tell people_. I cannot believe you didn’t tell me! I thought we were-”

Biting her tongue to stop herself, Uma harshly turned away before she could finish. _Friends_ . She thought that they were _friends_. As stupid as the concept was… she didn’t mind it all that much.

“I’m sorry, Uma. Next time, I’ll tell you.” Looking back at Gil, she blinked in surprise. His smile looked weird. It was smaller than usual, but… brighter, almost.

“What do you mean, ‘next time’? THERE WON’T BE A NEXT TIME YOU IDIOT!” She shoved him under again for good measure, but when he came up he was laughing. Tch. What an idiot. It was just her luck that an idiot like him was her friend.

She would never admit it, but she was happy when he came back the next day. And when he kept coming back, despite knowing how to swim.

\---

Uma allowed the ghost of a smile to appear on her face, looking over at her closest friends. She and Gil had come a long way from those kids who had learned friendship over scrubbing dishes and swimming. He was her most loyal; but he wasn’t strictly a part of the crew’s hierarchy. This confused the outsiders who looked at her crew, but who cared what they thought. They saw Uma, and saw the strong, passionate captain who had won her crew over one by one with her strength of will. Harry, who had sworn himself to her, and was devoted to her role as first mate. And Gil. Her first friend.

He was adored by all her crew, even though at first there had been friction due to his casually familiar way of speaking with Uma, which had been mistaken for disrespect. Now though, he had wormed his way into the hearts of the crew, the same way he had with Uma all those years ago.

Most of the gangs had wisened up to Gil’s importance around the time that he and Harry had started dating, but even then, they underestimated the strength of the bonds that held the trio together.

 _Still_ , Uma thought, as Yuan finally entered the room. _No matter what comes next, I know my crew can handle it._

Sitting up, Uma focused her attention on Jocelyn. On either side of her, she could feel her friends do the same.

They were ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Uma so much, but I really just cannot write her. And Gil! I'll try to add more of him and Harry in later chapters.  
> Please feel to send theories i the comments. I love discussing what you guys think!


	8. Before Escape 5

5

 _Merchant_ :

“Alright. Now that we’re all here, lets get down to business. You are all understandably concerned about why I’ve asked to speak first at this heads’ meeting, but allow me to reassure you. This isn’t a Parent Problem.” Across the room, several shoulders untensed at the announcement, and even Harriet relaxed slightly in relief.

Everyone remembered the last Parent Problem. No one wanted a repeat.

“The reason I have called you here, is because I believe I’ve discovered a way to leave the Isle of the Lost.” No use beating around the bush. Jocelyn could see several dubious looks being exchanged through the room, and she could understand why. Escape attempts were what the desperate and the newbies of the Isle did. Trying to sneak out on the barges, or bribing the goblins in charge of the trash. It never worked.

“With all due respect, Madame Merchant, that’s bullshit.” Clary said flatly. Yuan glanced at his lieutenant as she spoke up, but made no move to stop her. “If there was a way off the Isle, then someone would have exploited it by now.”

“I hate to agree with Clary, cause evilness knows we all want off this trash heap,” at the nods of agreement all around the table, Harriet lets a sardonic smile stretch on her face. “But my crew have got ears in all the docks. If there was any new development in the waters or the barrier, we’d know about it.”

“That’s true,” Mal nods at the captain, before smirking in her typical fashion. “However, this is something else.”

Yuan’s eyes narrow, “So you are aware of the route Jocelyn speaks of? And you agree with her idea of escape?”

“Jocelyn came to me before she even called this meeting, because her idea comes directly from something that one of my own did. And after hearing her out, I agree with her. Her idea is plausible.” Standing in front, Jocelyn was at the perfect spot to see everyone’s eyes widening at Mal’s words. It was one thing to say that she had an escape plan, but to hear the Dragon Queen of the Isle endorse it? That was the first step to getting the others agree.

“So what _is_ this plan?” Uma’s deliberately relaxed tone was a direct contrast to her tense posture, especially with her too bright eyes cutting across the room at Mal.

“Well, I’m sure you all remember the incident that happened a while back where a bit of magic got through the barrier, and all the magic sensitives went batshit crazy.”  
“Yeah, how could we forget? Little Miss Madhouse over there went on for weeks about ‘seeing the light’ and ‘feeling the universe.’” At Uma’s reminder, Maddy sighed blissfully.

“Oh, whatta feeling that was.”

“Yeah, well, it was kinda Carlos’ fault.” Mal said bluntly, and Jocelyn took over before anyone could derail the conversation further.

“According to Freddie’s shadows, Carlos de Vil created a machine that would hack into the Auradon television network, so that he could watch more than two channels. However, somehow instead of getting more channels, he created a hole in the barrier that allowed some magic in. Freddie came to me a while ago, just after that incident. Her idea was that if Carlos could do that much accidently, he might be able to do more on purpose.”

“So, you're saying that Carlos can make a machine that can hack through the barrier?” Harriet scoffed.

“Yes.”

Mal and Jocelyn spoke simultaneously. Everyone paused for a moment, looking between two of the most powerful women on the Isle, who had instantly replied with complete confidence.

“...alright then.” Harriet slumped back into her seat, frowning thoughtfully.

“But,” everyone straightened at Mal’s tone. “This plan requires two things from all of you.”

“Firstly, we’re going to need complete cooperation between all of our gangs.” Jocelyn took over again, nodding to Mal in thanks. “I’ve run the calculations, and thought of as many possible scenarios as I can. Although Carlos is a genius with technology, if he wants to crack through the barrier, he’s going to need help from people who understand magic. Maddy, can you and your witches help with that?”

“If it means gettin’ ta leave this magicless rock, my coven will be happy ta help.” Maddy smiled widely, her eyes swirling with colors.

“Thank you. My merchants will be supplying you with any materials we can find. After the machine is complete, we’re going to need to get everyone off the Isle. Harriet, Uma. We need your ships. Will you help us?”

“Ha!” Harriet barked out a laugh, and Jocelyn felt her heart sink. “If it means a chance to sail out on the open sea, I’m willin’ to work with Davy Jones himself!”

The captain winked across at Uma, who grinned fiercely back at her.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Jocelyn. If you need ships, you got ‘em.” Grinning now herself, Jocelyn turned to Yuan next.

“Yuan. I have maps for most of Auradon, and I’ve determined that the safest place for us to go is the Forbidden Forest in the north. We’re going to need people who know how to live in the wilderness and hunt their own food. Will you help?”

A rare smile crossed the hunters face as he nodded.

“If we’re going to pull this off, we need to work together. If you have any feuds, any grudges, now is the time to leave them behind. Decide who you trust, and who you don’t.”

“Um, excuse me?” Gil spoke up then, his hand raised in the air until Uma shoved it down. “You said you had two things you need from us. That was the first thing, so what’s the second?”

“The second thing should be obvious, but I’m saying it anyway. Do not, under any circumstance, give any hint to your parents about this plan.” The temperature in the room seemed to drop a couple degrees. “And when I say parents, I don’t just mean the villainous or abusive ones.”

“Wait,” Gil’s eyes were wide and confused. “Do you mean that I can’t even say goodbye to Mom?”

And Jocelyn knew what the right answer was. But…

Gil’s mother, Drizelda, Hades, and all the parents on the Isle who genuinely cared about their kids. The ones who had also been kind to the rest of the children, and who had tried their best to let them decide who they wanted to be instead of superimposing their own image on them. The ones who taught them what it meant to be _family_. They deserved to know their kids were safe.

“The night we leave.” Mal’s voice startled Jocelyn slightly. “If you want to say goodbye, do it the night we leave. I think she’ll understand.”

Gil grinned back at Mal, in a way that was so _grateful_ that Jocelyn had to look away. She already knew…

...she wouldn’t be saying goodbye to her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case it wasn't obvious in Freddie's chapter, I'm changing things a little. The Rotten Four have been friends for a lot longer than they were in the book.
> 
> Anyway, the plot begins! Comment if you wanna discuss theories with me!


	9. Before Escape 6

6

_ Chef: _

Provisions had been loaded. All supplies was accounted for. There was a storm on the horizon, and tonight the moon was new.

They had been planning and gathering for months, and the less said about the creating process of the machine, the better- _ seriously, it had been weeks and Helia was  _ still _ finding chunks of fur in her hair _ -but in the end it had all paid off. The machine was ready, the supplies had been gathered, and everyone was healthy and ready to go.

It was time.

A solemn air laid over the docks. The crew of the  _ Lost Revenge _ were subdued; all eyes were on several members who were noticeably loitering at the edge of the pier. Helia recognized Gil, but the rest were identifiable more by look than by name. They were the kids of the Red Light district’s gem; the  _ Thorny Lotus  _ brothel. Helia’s dad was friends with the Madam of the  _ Lotus _ , Gil’s mother Gillian, so Helia had seen them hanging around there before.

From the looks of it, they were doing the exact same thing Helia was, i.e. avoiding going home until the last possible second.

“Hey!” A sharp bark caught everyone’s attention. Uma stood at the helm, tall and proud, staring down at her crew. Beside her was Harry, shadowing her like always.

“Listen up you lot, ‘cause I’m only gonna say this once. We meet back here at sundown. Don’t be late.”

Her eyes cut across to Gil and the other loiters, and then narrowed into a glare.

“As a captain, I expect to command a crew of pirates who live each day  _ without regret _ . Don’t act like yellow-bellied cowards with no bones.”

Miraculously, her glare softened.

“This is your chance. Don’t fuck it up.”

There was a moment of silence that stretched on for an eternity, as Gil and Uma locked eyes. Then Gil grinned, large and sincere, and the moment was gone.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be back by dusk. See you later,  _ Shrimpy _ .” 

There was a shriek of rage as Uma grabbed the nearest throwable object, in this case Harry’s hook, and threw it at Gil. He dodged with a laugh and snatched it from the air. He teasingly waved at them with it, before pressing a kiss to the hook, and (for lack of a better word)  _ hooking  _ it to his belt. He ran off with another laugh, the other  _ Lotus _ kids running after him.

Uma scoffed and settled down with a scowl, but the ship’s atmosphere was back to normal.

Helia took another look over at the captain and her first mate, both of them very decidedly  _ not _ going anywhere, and sighed.

“Oi, Freddie. Can you take the final inventory back to Jocelyn alone?” Helia smiled up at the Isle’s eternally cloudy sky. “I think it’s time I headed home.”

“Glad you got over your case of weak knees,  _ Chef _ .” Freddie smirked over at her, her shadow giving her a thumbs up in the background.

“Oh, shut up,  _ Witchdoctor _ .” Helia shoved the inventory list into the girl’s hands, and walked off, heading towards the marketplace.

The Isle was quieter and emptier than usual, partly due to the coming storm which always hit the broken buildings of the Isle harshly, but also in part due to a clever plan of Jocelyn’s.

For the past week, the gangs had been acting openly antagonistic towards each other in public. And like usual, all the small-fries and goodie-goodies of the Isle had panicked and started avoiding the gang’s usual hang outs. Including the docks. That, coupled with the storm prep everyone was doing, and no one would be around to see the ships depart.

Helia stopped in front of her house, and took a moment to look at it. This would probably be the last time she ever stepped foot in it. 

Her childhood home wasn’t the most ugly building on the block, but that didn’t mean it was nice looking. Made of concrete bricks that might have had a color once upon a time, it was covered in posters and graffiti; layers upon layers of sun bleached and water damaged propaganda. The front door had steam and the smell of cooked meat escaping from it, as it led to her father’s food shop,  _ Hades’ Hell _ , a Greek style eatery. The back door led up to the apartment above the shop, which is where Helia and her dad lived.

Hesitating for a moment, Helia debated whether she was willing to face her dad now, or whether she would be a coward for a little longer.

She went through the back door.

\---

Half an hour later, and Helia was feeling a lot less anxious, but she also still felt  _ really anxious _ .

_ Oh gods, what if he freaks out? You know how overprotective he can get, Helia. What if he makes such a big fuss that the  _ other  _ parents take notice? _

No. Calm down.

Deep breaths.

In and out.

In.

...

And out.

_ It’ll be fine. Dad hasn’t blown up in years, and even if he did, with the storm coming, no one has time to care about it. _

Everything would be fine.

Maybe if she kept thinking it, she’d start believing it.

Helia dropped the green onions she’d chopped up into the frying pan sizzling on the stove. Then she started stuffing the grape leaves with the meat she had snagged from the supply barge earlier. The familiar and repetitive movements calmed her slightly, but…

For all her logic and reasoning, the truth was that she had idea how this was going to go. How could she?

Once she left the Isle, there was next to no chance that she would come back. Unless Auradon found them and decided to throw them back.

And there was no way Mal would ever let that happen. 

So, it was likely that Helia would never see her father again. 

This was her final goodbye.

Which was why it had to perfect. She had even decided to cook his favorite dishes for dinner;  _ Dolmadakia _ and  _ Tomatokeftedes _ , with substitutes for the things she couldn’t get on the Isle easily. It wasn’t exactly easy, but being in the gang that ruled over the merchants of the Isle had some benefits.

She finished preparing most of the food, and then put it in the oven to keep it warm while she waited for her dad. She didn’t need to wait long, but it felt like an eternity passed as she sat there, listening to the banging hustle of the store closing downstairs.

Finally, Helia heard the noise she anticipated and dreaded in equal parts. The muffled sounds of footsteps climbing up the stairs to the apartment.

Breathe in…

“MMMMM~ I don’t know WHAT’S cookin’, but it smells just as divine as I am!”

...and out. She could do this.

“Hi Dad.” She turned to greet him, and he was there.

Hades took off his work apron, and hung it on the hook by the door. Scrubbing a spindly hand over his head he looked over at Helia, and smiled.

“Hi, firefly.”

 

And she  _ broke _ .

Salty streams of tears burst from her eyes, tickling her cheeks as they fell. She sucked in a startled breath, only to choke it out the next moment as a sob. Her hands came up automatically to try and cover her face, but the damage was done.

Hades froze where he was for a moment, before hurrying over to her.

“Shit, firefly, what’s wrong?” He tried to move her hands away from her face, but she kept them planted over her eyes. “C’mon, sparkler, look at me. I’m kinda panicking, so my face probably looks funny right now. This is a limited time offer to get to see my ugly mug looking  _ worse _ than usual.”

Sniffling, and choking out a small laugh (because that was _ so typical  _ of her dad to just crack jokes right now), Helia slowly peered up at him from behind her fingers.

...Ok, yeah, his face did look pretty funny. But the freaked out look in his eyes just reminded her that unlike most of the adults on the Isle, her dad actually cared about her. They had one of the few healthy parent-child relationships on this miserable rock, and leaving would mean losing that bond.

No more flinging sarcastic comments at one another over an open stove, or mocking the stupid Auradon television propaganda while sitting together on the couch, or finding vials of new spices hidden under her pillow when she was feeling sad, or-

_ Sob. _

Her eyes were tickling and she could feel herself crying harder and oh gosh hide it hide it  _ hide it- _

“Helia.”

She froze. Her dad never called her by her name. Not unless he was serious. A hand grabbed her chin, and turned her face towards its owner. Helia tried to look him in the eyes, but he was blurry through the tears.

“Shhhh. It’s okay, firefly.” Hades pulled her into a hug, and she clung to him, beginning to cry louder now.

“D-dad, I… I need to… to tell you- _ hic _ -” she broke off, her speech getting interrupted by watery hiccups. A hand combed through her hair, soothing and warm. It only made her tears come faster. She, she couldn’t say it. She just  _ couldn’t _ .

But she had to let him know. She  _ needed _ to let him know.

“Dad, I- _ hic _ -I’ve gotta tell you something-”

“Helia. It’s alright.”

“N-no. No it’s not. I-you need to- _ hic _ -I have to-”

“No, firefly, you don’t need to tell me anything.” He brushed some tears from her face, smiling sadly down at her.

“I already know.”

For a second, Helia kept crying, not understanding what he meant. And then time froze. Helia stopped breathing for a second, before her brain kicked back in and-yeah no _sorry_ **_what did you just say?!_**

“W-what?” She pulled back slightly to look at her dad’s face, her hiccuped tears stopping in the face of her shock.

“I know that you’re leaving the Isle. I mean,” here he pauses, solemn expression falling away to show exasperation. “No offense, but Gillian figured it out a couple months ago. That Gil kid isn’t exactly what I’d call  _ subtle _ , and I noticed that you were making an effort to spend more time in the shop with me. That is, when you weren’t running around doing errands for the penny-pincher.”

“...You’re telling me… that this  _ whole time, _ you _ knew _ ? And you didn’t  _ say _ anything?”

_ Why did you keep quiet till now? _ Helia thought furiously, more tears leaking from her eyes. Don’t you care that we might never see each other again?

“Helia.” Hades smiled, harsh edges softening. “I never expected to get any children of my own. Not after Persephone…  _ left. _ ” They both grimaced at that. “But, not only was I finally released from my duty to the Underworld; I had the unexpected joy of meeting you. I have tried my best to raise you here, and teach you as much about the world as possible, but I never expected you to stay on the Isle for all your life. You were meant for better, and I’ve always known that if the chance came to leave, you’d take it. But leaving has never been about me, and so if you wanted to tell me, I’d listen. But if you didn’t, then it’s my job as your father to respect your decision.”

“...Dad.” Helia choked out, eyes wide.  _ Gods, _ she loved him so much. How did she get lucky enough to get a dad like him? Grabbing his robe tightly, she pulled him into another hug.

“You’re the best dad  _ ever _ .”

“Well, I’m certainly the _ only _ dad you’ve ever had.”

“ _ Dad _ .”

“Ok, ok, I get it. No ruining the super sappy moment. I’ll be quiet.”

Helia smiled through the tears, because no. She gave it thirty seconds before he cracked and started talking again.

\---

After dinner, Helia left her house armed with a small bag of food, and a metal ring in hand. She looked back once, to see Hades at the window, waving her goodbye. Then she continued onwards, not daring to look back again. Afraid that if she did, she would not be able to keep going forwards.

It was time to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys would not BELIEVE how hard it was to write this chapter. I tried to actually make it emotional, so there's that.  
> Also, love Hades, but cannot write him AT ALL. He's also one of the only adults I have character development planned for.   
> Long story short, Hades is a good dad. He loves his daughter, and the fact that she's been effectively crippled into a mortal form kinda pisses him off. And not sure if any of you picked up on it, but Hades kinda likes the Isle? I mean, compared to the Underworld, that place is a vacation.
> 
> If I ever decide to make a sequel with omakes and little side stories, I'm definitely gonna dig into that, and the Persephone thing too. 
> 
> So yeah, hope you enjoy. Comment if you wanna discuss stuff! Please don't try to guilt trip me into updating, because that's just gonna make me write slower! Thanks!
> 
> Also, this is the last Before Escape chapter. Get ready for the Escape!


	10. After Escape 8

8

_ Collector: _

Percy woke up to sunlight on his face. It was warm, and so bright that it hurt. He ducked his head down into a warm chest, feeling a grin stretch across his face.

He was in  _ Auradon _ . They had done it. But there was still so much to do, and he could already hear movement around him as people woke up.

Part of him wanted to get up and join them, but the rest of him was tired from yesterday. He snuggled further into the source of warmth, arms tightening around a lithe waist.

In response, hot fingers stroked up his spine, making Percy shiver.

“Good morning.” He said softly, looking up into a pair of dark red eyes.

“Pleasant waking, hearthair,” Ace murmured back, smiling at him and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

“It sounds like everyone is getting up,” Percy said, shifting backwards reluctantly. Then stopped as Ace pulled him back so Percy was snug against his chest.

“Lying here will not injure anyone. Stay in my arms longer,” Ace said, nuzzling into Percy’s hair. Humming a yes, Percy tucked his head back under his boyfriend’s chin, feeling content.

“OI! WILL YOU LAZY PIECES OF LARD GET YOUR ASSES UP ALREADY?! OR DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO ALL THE WORK?!” Harriet hollered across the sleeping area, a wave of groans rising in response. “I’M SORRY, I DIDN’T REALIZE THERE WERE PRINCESSES HERE! IF YOU’D LIKE TO GO SING AT THE ANIMALS, THEN I WILL BE GLAD TO TOSS YOU STRAIGHT INTO A PACK OF WOLVES! NOW QUIT YOUR WHINING!”

Percy sighed, his head falling into Ace’s chest.

“I suppose there’s no chance Jocelyn slept through that. “ Percy muttered dryly.

“Yes. Money-minded Miss Merchant will certainly need you for the rest of the unpacking,” Ace muttered back sadly, stroking a stray hair out of Percy’s face. “May I braid your hair, loveliest one?”

“Please and thank you,” Percy yawned, sitting up. Ace began braiding, his hands swift and gentle from practice.

“So, do you have a pronoun for me today?” Ace asked, carding his fingers through a particularly stubborn knot.

“Still he/him,” Percy yawned again, turning back around as Ace finished. “Thanks, darling.”

Ace turned slightly red at the nickname, making Percy smirk. Leaning forward, he kissed him.

Ace sighed dreamily as Percy pulled away, staring at him with soft eyes and a gentle smile. Percy felt his own smile creep across his face in response. He squeezed Ace’s hand and then let go, standing up with a stretch of sore muscles.

Picking his way through the still lying bodies, he made his way over to Jocelyn. She stood next to a tree stump covered in a plastic sheet, upon which were a couple stacks of paper. Noticing Percy’s approach, she held out a folder of papers, and he grabbed them from her, already scanning through the first page.

“Alright. Let’s start with unpacking Uma’s ship. We’ll need to take some of the rations from there, but I want the hunters to start tracking what game is in the region, and which animals are the most overpopulated. Since the pirates are going to be spreading out to make a basic map of the area and to find the best spot for our new home, I want them to check any rivers they find to see if there are fish in them. The sooner we can get a source of food, the better.”

Jocelyn nodded, turning to Helia and Freddie.

“Helia, go relay what Percy said to Yuan. Freddie, get your girlfriend and her runners over here so we can start running messages.” They both nodded and trotted off.

“One good thing is we don’t need to set out patrols for now, since Freddie’s friends are bringing her information about the layout of this forest. There aren’t any people for miles, and Auradon’s aircraft don’t come over this stretch of the area.” Jocelyn said, grabbing a larger piece of paper with a very basic map sketched on it. She pointed at a place near the top right.

“This is where we are now. And this-” she moved her finger to the top left. “-is where both Yuan, Mal, and I agree to be the best spot for the village. The canopy in that area is set up more like a jungle, so if we can get above the first layer, then we’ll be camouflaged on both the top, and bottom. It’s also fairly close to the river, so we’ll be able to get fresh water.”

“That’s great!” Percy grinned at her. “If we know where we’re going, then instead of unloading everything now, let’s do it once we get there. In the meantime, let’s start figuring out housing.”

“Well,” Jocelyn hummed, grabbing yet another paper from the pile next to her. “I’ve already calculated what everyone needs to live, and I’ve drawn out the basic blueprints. As long as we can get our hands on enough raw material, we should be fine. We’ll need to figure out the rest once we get there.”

Percy nodded, flipping through his papers one last time to check that he had covered everything he needed to. Looking up, he smirked at Jocelyn.

“Alright then. After you,  _ Merchant. _ ”

She barked out a laugh. Gathering her papers, she mockingly curtsied, flashing a smile at him. “Why thank you,  _ Collector. _ ”

Straightening up, Jocelyn looked out over all the gangs, sleepy faces packing up the camp. Something in her eyes softened, and she smiled out at the world, sincere and joyful.

“Let’s do our best then. So that all of them can live the lives they deserve.” She said, quiet but strong, and that right there was why Percy followed her. So he straightened up himself, ready for the long day ahead of him. The long road ahead of them all.

“Let’s do our best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! It's kind of short, but it's there.  
> Couple things:  
> -Ace calls Percy all sorts of sweet nicknames. "Hearthair" is because Percy is a redhead, and therefore his hair is the color of red hearts.  
> -Also, just so you know, I won't be going into detail with the actual building of the village. I'll write the important parts, sure, but you guys don't want to hear about them gathering wood and actually building their tree houses.
> 
> Oh yeah, and I'm back at college, so shout-out to my little sister M, who this chapter is for. Miss you already!


	11. Escape 7

_Inventor:_

Carlos was nervous. Scratch that, he was barely holding himself together. He had already worked himself into a panic attack earlier in the morning when his mother had requested him to fix a janky window wiper on her car by tomorrow.

Carlos wasn’t going to be there tomorrow.

At least, he hoped he wouldn’t be.

But they hadn’t exactly tested the prototype… The math looked fine, and the witches had sworn their runework was flawless, so in theory, it should work.

...So many theories fell apart when put into practice.

But Carlos wanted to believe in his invention. He had to put his faith in his work; that part was easy, he’d been doing that for years.

“Carlos.”

This time, everyone else was depending on him too.

…

...What if he let them down?

“Carlos?”

Oh gods, what if it did work but their parents caught them? What if they got to Auradon and were caught immediately? What if what if whatifwhatifwh--

“ _Carlos!_ ”

Carlos let out a squeal-- a very _deep_ , and _manly sounding squeal_ \--and definitely didn’t jump slightly as he turned to face a concerned Jay.

Jay raised a single brow as his head craned to peer at Carlos closer.

“You good there, buddy?”

“O-oh, um yeAH--” Carlos coughed once to try and clear his throat. Why did his voice always have to break in front of Jay? “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Really?” Jay’s said, both his voice and face deadpan. “Because there’s a bucket to your right if you think you’re gonna hurl.”

...There was no way Carlos was going to puke in front of Jay. Especially not when he looked so attractive. His hair was even up in a bun.

_Damn it, stop thinking about Jay’s hair. Wait is that a braid? Did Evie do that? It looks nice, like Jay’s face--OK STOP IT!_

“Um, I’m gonna go and uh talk? Talk. Talk to Evie, about um, science, and uh and math. Yes. Um, so I don’t puke. _Not that I would have puked._ But um, yes that is where I’m going to go.”

“Okay, dude. Take it easy.” Jay clapped a hand to Carlos’s shoulder, and Carlos could feel it through the fabric of his jacket; warm and steady. “I’ll see you later!”

“Y-yeah. Yeah! I’ll see you later too!” Carlos watched him walk over to the pirates manning the sail ropes. They were on Harriet’s boat, the _Dark Blue_ , which was bigger than Uma’s but much slower. It would be going through the barrier first, and as such, was also the ship that had Carlos’s machine on it.

His invention was an ugly thing; large sheets of metal welded together over a circuit board of coiled wires and inky runes. Underneath, were cords wrapping around a large car engine, the source of its power. Rubber bands stretched across gaps in the metal, holding it together alongside nuts and bolts and screws and nails in a variety of sizes. On the side, was an old train switch, locked in place in the OFF position.

It was misshapen and clunky and covered in grease in more places than it wasn’t. It was made of trash and hope.

It was their salvation.

That is, if it worked.

...Carlos really hoped it worked.

Suddenly, a hush swept across the deck. Carlos, turning, saw Anthony step off the gangplank onto the ship. With every eye on the ship following him, he strode over to Harriet. When he stopped, so too did time; breathing on the ship halted, and ears strained to catch his first word.

Carlos didn’t even dare to blink.

“Captain.” Anthony nodded at Harriet, breaking the moment. “We’re ready to depart.”

Carlos swallowed, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants. On second thought, maybe he should’ve taken Jay up on that bucket. But it was too late now.

Harriet’s crew scurried across the ship, oars coming out and dipping into the dark water below. The skies opened above them, the storm starting with a sprinkling of water. Smoothly, silently, they pulled out of the harbor. The barrier surrounded the Isle closely, with almost no room to maneuver. Drifting closer to the shimmering wall, Harriet and Anthony both turned and nodded to Carlos, who swallowed his nerves and walked over to his machine.

Taking a deep breath, Carlos grasped the switch, and tugged.

It didn’t move. For a moment, he panicked, before realizing he never unlocked it. Swinging the metal bar out of the way, he tugged again, and this time it swung smoothly into the ON position.

And nothing happened.

For an eternity that lasted five seconds, Carlos was still, but his mind was whirling, and going through the five stages of grief.

One.

...It was probably just taking a second before it worked. If he gave it a second the circuits would connect and the engine would start and everything would be fine and--

Two.

Why wasn’t working?! He had put so much effort into this, and his math was _right_ , he knew it was right, so why wasn’t it _working_ \--

Three.

_Please._

Four.

...Damn it.

Five.

Carlos felt his eyes start to itch with tears. It didn’t work. He was stupid, and they were on a ship in a storm, and it didn’t work.

Six.

All at once the machine came to life. The engine rumbled, the circuits sparked, and the runes began to glow blue. Yelping, Carlos fell back against the floor, as the glow from the runes rose from the ink, misting into the air. Unhampered by the rain, it flew unerringly for the barrier, and began to eat through the shimmering gold, like acid through metal.

While the mist quickly ate the gold magic of the barrier, a silver barrier remained in its place, presumably the part of the barrier that kept the magic out. The mist stopped eating, now just maintaining the perimeter of what was already gone.

It worked.

Harriet clapped once, a sharp, clear sound that her crew clearly understood, as they immediately resumed rowing.

Carlos shivered as he felt the cool electric feeling wash over him, his closed eyes opening and he saw…

He saw the horizon. Full of storm clouds. And it wasn’t covered by the barrier. He could see the horizon.

Carlos cried. Tears pouring down his face as he turned off his machine. His beautiful _beautiful_ machine.

He kept crying, even as the ship turned to head for the other side of the Isle, where Uma’s ship waited for them. He felt Jay pull him into his arms; warm and steady.

Carlos let himself hug him, hiding his face in a broad shoulder, as callused hands stroked his back, and a low voice said “Good job, Carlos. Good job.”

And if Carlos felt some tears that weren’t his own?

Well, that was between them and the rain.

 

* * *

 

_Siren:_

Uma stumbled to the side of the boat, feeling the barrier pass over her. A feral grin slashed itself across her face, and she turned her face up to the pouring sky, rapturous in her joy.

They were free.

Free to explore, and live, and grow. Free to sail straight on till they fell off the edge of the world.

They were free, and nothing would stop them from running and sailing and flying towards horizon.

But first…

“Harry! Turn this ship to port! We sail to the Black Forest!”

Her first mate grinned back at her, a smile just as feral and wild, and it’s wonderful. Two beasts, just as powerful, just as hurt, just as unbroken as one another, finally having clawed their way free of the cage they were born to.

Harry whirls off, organizing her crew, and steering them where she wills. Uma turns to Mal, who is standing off to the side with Maddy, and immediately knows that something is wrong. Both of them are clenching their hands into white knuckled fists, faces pale under the rain.

“Oi. _Dragon Queen, Seer,_ what’s going on?” Uma draws nearer, but stays out of attacking distance. Both of them look up at her, and she draws in a quick breath from surprise. Their eyes are glowing with power, albeit in different ways.

Mal’s eyes were green like a fire, flames burning behind her stare with wild power. It reminded Uma of the time she had gotten Mal pissed off enough that her eyes had glowed green. But this was more somehow; the same difference between a tree and a forest.

Maddy had always had unsettling eyes, with rings of kaleidoscopic color whirling around her pupil, constantly looking at things no one else could see. But now the colors were spinning outward, each one so vivid and bright that Uma had to look away so as to not get dizzy.

“Th’mgic.” Maddy mumbled, unintelligible. Mal shifted next to her, and immediately grimaced. It didn’t seem to be out of pain, but she definitely was uncomfortable for some reason Uma couldn’t see.

“What?”

 _“She said, ‘the magic’.”_ Mal spoke up, her voice doubling like an echo. She grimaced again, a hand coming up to touch her throat. Next to her, Maddy started to laugh like a maniac, and Uma suddenly remembered how absolutely insane she had acted when so little magic had gotten through the barrier that one time.

Well shit. Maddy was high.

“Okay, well Maddy being knocked dizzy is understandable given her reaction to last time, but what’s up with you?” Uma narrowed her eyes at Mal, who glared back slightly, but eventually sighed.

_“I’m--”_

“The witches’re dancing an’ the creatures are turning, an’ the fae who was ne’er born ‘s finally learnin’!” Maddy crowed, grin stretching across her face a little too wide to be humanly possible. Next to her, Mal sighed again.

_“What she means is that those of us with creature blood are having some unexpected side effects from being exposed to magic for the first time.”_

“Wait… _I_ have creature blood. Why the hell aren’t my eyes glowing?”

“I don’t know.” Mal scrubbed a hand over her face, the gesture stilted. “I’ll have to ask Evie to look into it.”

“So silly, so stupid! Your problem lies on this deck! Just look at the magic that hangs from her neck!” Maddy pointed at Uma, and they all looked down--

\--to see her raincoat.

“Wait,” Uma fished out the shell necklace that was hidden under layers of clothing.

It was glowing.

Uma and Mal looked at each other, and both of them had a moment of perfect comprehension, when their thoughts aligned perfectly.

_“Tomorrow?”_

“Tomorrow.”

Shoving her necklace back down under her coat, Uma craned her neck back to look at the storm overhead.

“We don’t have much time. If this storm gets too bad, we won’t be able to sail safely. We need to speed up.”

“Not to worry, siren sweet! Your voice can contain the weather’s beat!”

“Maddy, you are valid, but I need you to stop speaking rhymes for _one fucking second_.” Uma’s hand tapped out a beat on the pommel of her sword; a nervous habit she had never quite managed to shake off. Maddy blinked at her twice, then sighhhhhed, her eyes suddenly losing the glow.

“Fine. I’ll be serious.” Planting a hand on her hip, she twirled a finger up to gesture at the storm. “That storm right there? That’s a whole lotta water pouring down inta a whole lotta water. Therefore, someone who has a natural affinity for water magic, i.e. _you_ , can use their magic ta make sure we can sail through this safely.”

“Maddy I have literally never used magic before in my life.” Uma could see her deadpan face being mirrored by Mal. Maddy just rolled their eyes at them, as if _they_ were being the dumb ones.

“Yeah, but even on the Isle, without any magic, all of us had ta grow up. And what’re the two things that decide _how_ you grow? Nurture, and _nature_. And all of you guys had a hell of a ton of magical potential in your nature. That manifested itself in different ways; for Mal, she’s a very possessive person with a lot of power under her skin, despite her age. For Uma, however, you didn’t get tentacles, or Ursula’s potioning skills, or any of that bullshit. No, what you got, was your voice.”

“...You’re talking about my title?”

“We all know why you’re called _Siren_. Your crew were all recruited one by one, convinced individually by you yourself. Ursula was known for her ability to convince people ta make risky deals with her; it’s how she got her hands on Ariel. But she did that by lying, so her words were empty. But you…” Maddy smiles at Uma, with something like respect in her eyes.

“Uma, you’re called _Siren_ , because your words have power. You’ve always been a passionate speaker. But that was on the Isle, without any magic. Here, here your words have a different kind of power.

“Speak ta the sky and sea. They will listen.”

Uma shivers; not noticeable through the rain and wind, but she feels like Maddy can tell anyway.

“So what, I’m supposed to ask the storm nicely to please go away?” Uma can’t quite keep the skepticism from her voice. Maddy grins at her in response, a little of the glow returning to her eyes.

“Of course not. You’re the captain of this ship; a sailor who can go toe ta toe with the sea. You speak to the storm as Uma, and it will listen ta the orders of its captain.” Stretching up onto her toes, Maddy cracks her neck twice, and then her eyes glow full force again. Grinning, she winks at Uma and Mal, and then saunters off towards the tarp that some of the passengers are huddled under.

 _“...I am very glad that she’s not my enemy.”_ Mal says finally, eyes tracking the witch through the rain. Uma nods in wordless agreement. Maddy may be a fairly playful and lackadaisical person usually, but she also knew things that no one else did. And knowledge was power, especially in a place where no one wanted to tell you anything.

“...Alright then. Let’s go talk to the storm.” Uma strode towards the bow of the ship, dredging up as much presence and confidence as possible as she went.

Just talk like a captain, huh?

“LISTEN UP, YOU PICAROON OF A STORM!” Uma roared off the front of the ship, spittle flying as she glared up at the dark sky. “I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’RE HOLLERING AROUND LIKE A TANTRUMING INFANT, AND FRANKLY, I DON’T CARE! BUT I _DO_ EXPECT YOU TO HOIST UP YOUR SKIRT AND ACT LIKE AN _ADULT_ FOR ONCE IN YOUR _MISERABLE EXISTENCE!_ NOW LET! US! **THROUGH!** ”

There’s a moment in which Uma thinks it won’t work, and that she just made an idiot of herself in front of both her own crew, and also the other gangs. But then the wind lets out a sort of sigh, and the rain lets up slightly. The storm doesn’t stop, not by a long shot, but the waves seem to cradle the ship now, rather than try to drag it down. Looking behind her, Uma notes that Harriet’s ship also seems to be more stable.

“Holy shit! That was so cool Uma!” Gil crows from the lower deck, while the rest of her crew seem to be divided between staring at her in shock and awe, and looking at each other as if to say, _did you see that?_

Harry gives her a wolf whistle from his place near the stern, and despite not being able to see him clearly, Uma is entirely certain he winked at her. Good old Harry.

Flipping her braids over her shoulder, Uma stands tall, and acts as if she never had any doubt that it was going to work.

She’s pretty sure Mal can tell though.

 

* * *

 

_Tracker:_

Trois was very tired. His feet ached, he was cold and wet, and he could barely see where he was going.

He also felt incredible.

They had steered the ships through the storm, all the way up to the river that came from the Black Forest, where they all disembarked from the ships. Everyone had unloaded their travel packs, and then the witch gang had used some weird magic stuff to shrink both ships and put them into bottles. They had set off through the forest, heading north towards the edge of Auradon.

Trois had grown up with his father teaching him and his brothers about hunting, hearing about the thrill of the chase, and the joys of the forest. But running through the dead trees and giant thorn vines that made up the back of the Isle had never really excited Trois.

But this? This was a _real_ forest.

Wet leaves squelched under their shoes, hiding twisting roots that snatched at their ankles. Tall trunks blended into the misty background, a labyrinth with no walls or defining features. Above them, the canopy erased the sky; only the odd drip of water or boom of thunder reminding them of the storm overhead. Every so often, Trois would hear a rustle a little too loud to be wind, and a little too far away to be the group, and a shudder would race up his spine.

Gods above, this was _exhilarating._

Grinning to himself, Trois shuffled closer to his twin, bumping their shoulders together gently. Junior looked over at him and grinned, a slash of dull white in the darkness, and twined their hands together and squeezed. Trois squeezed back, happy and content and so, so grateful that they had met Yuan and joined his gang. That they had been able to leave the Isle together with all their friends.

A hand slipped into his free hand suddenly, and Trois turned to see Clary, dark eyes gleaming at him a little brighter and wetter than usual. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, gentle palms and cold fingers tangling together. She glanced behind her, then fell back, tugging Yuan’s hand into hers. He blinked at her in surprise, then glanced down, following the trail of hands back to the Trois and Junior.

Huffing out a laugh, Yuan reached backward himself, and found another hand to hold, and then that hand found another, and another, and another, until eventually they were all connected.

They stumbled forward like that; cold hands linked, and squeezing each other as if to say, yes, yes I’m here too, we can make it, we’re together, it’s finally okay.

Junior let out a suspiciously wet laugh next to him, and Trois could feel his own eyes tearing up as he chuckled.

And he thought to himself, this must be what happiness feels like.

 

* * *

 

_Witchdoctor:_

Freddie paused, her arm yanking as she felt the person in front of her try to keep walking, and then stop.

 **_Stop_ ** , the shadows whispered to her. **_Not that way._ **

“Freddie?” A soft voice whispered in the darkness, Ginny Gothel’s soft face peering back at her, a line of faces in the darkness looking back at her; some human, some not.

 **_This way. This way. Follow us, friend._ ** They twined off to the left, dancing in her peripheral vision.

Freddie let out a breath, then raised her voice so it could be heard.

“I think we need to go left.”

Faces turned, looking up the line now, to a gleam of purple in the darkness. Mal’s eyes glowed a soft green, looking directly at Freddie.

**_Come with us. We’ll lead you home._ **

Mal nodded.

“Lead the way, Freddie.”

Freddie pulled the two hands she was holding together, Ginny and Jocelyn both smiling at her as they grasped hands tightly.

**_We’ll keep you safe, as you have kept us safe._ **

She walked alone to the front of the line, passing face after face that nodded to her in the darkness, each of them smiling at her. A hand suddenly snagged hers in the dark, and she stopped, coming face to face with Carlos de Vil.

“Thank you. If, if you hadn’t noticed, I-we, we would never have left. So thank you.”

**_A favor for a favor._ **

Freddie feels something rising in the back of her throat that feels suspiciously like tears, but swallows it down and nods back at Carlos, who squeezes her hand one last time and then lets go.

**_A favor for a friend._ **

She resumes her walk to the front, passing faces she’s known her entire life, each of them looking as though a burden has been lifted from them. Freddie can feel her shadow beside her; ghostly hands stroking over each pair of joined hands. And their owners don’t shudder at the feeling, they smile.

**_Follow us. Follow us._ **

Reaching the front, where the hunters had been leading them, Freddie takes Junior’s offered hand and pulls him forward, the line following him.

**_Follow us, friend._ **

She follows the shadows, and they lead them all home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is! The escape!  
> Gosh, this was hard to write. I tried to do the whole thing in Carlos' perspective, but then I just sort of gave up and did multiple POVs.
> 
> Anywho, I'm really happy with this chapter! This escape began and ended with Freddie Facilier, so I both began, and ended with her POV. For the escape at least!
> 
> I hope y'all are ready, because now that the Before Escape is written, I'm gonna start writing some of the Auradon stuff. Be prepared to suffer~
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically an AU where all the villain kids look out for one another above looking out for their parents' wishes. I'll be updating it sporadically, and I mean really sporadically. I hope you all enjoy, but this is mainly just because I've been itching to write this out. For those of you who want to read stuff in order, I'll be putting numbers in the chapter headings.


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